Opera Now provides a unique and all-encompassing perspective on the international opera scene through its lively and colourful mix of news, reviews, interviews, travel articles and commentary.

Read about new productions, festivals, performance previews and world premieres, as well as reviews of all the latest opera CDs, DVDs, books, websites and films.

With our mixture of celebrity interviews, leadership profiles and behind-the-scenes features, you'll appreciate the diversity, passion and dynamism of the people who make opera happen. It is the global platform for opera, reaching out to opera lovers worldwide, but also into the heart of the industry from the grassroots to the glamorous.

Latest News

Search news:

Jonas Kaufmann warns against Decca release

28 July 2015

Kaufmann warned fans against the Decca release

The tenor advised fans to choose his upcoming Sony release instead

Jonas Kaufmann has posted a message on his Facebook page warning fans not to buy an upcoming release on Decca Classics.

The tenor advises fans to wait for the ‘real’ album, recorded with Sony and due for release on 11 September:

Dear Friends,

Please don’t let yourselves be deceived by the Decca release Jonas Kaufmann – The Age of Puccini. This compilation contains only 3 Puccini arias – my recordings of ‘Che gelida manina’ and ‘E lucevan le stelle’ from 2007 and a scene from La Rondine, that I recorded with Renée Fleming in 2008 for the Verismo album. The remaining 18 tracks are essentially my old recording Verismo Arias from 2010. Therefore familiar recordings – in new packaging. I was not consulted in its making, this was done without my knowledge and approval

The ‘real’ Puccini album which I recorded with Antonio Pappano in Rome in Autumn last year is titled Nessun dorma and will be released on Sony in the middle of September. It exclusively contains arias and scenes from Puccini’s operas including highlights from Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, Tosca, La Fanciulla del West and Turandot.

Jonas Kaufmann

A preview of Nessun dorma – The Puccini Album on the Presto Classics website reads:

‘The disc will include excerpts from roles which Kaufmann has already conquered on stage, such as Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West (following his role-debut in Vienna last year, the New York Times observed that he ‘sings Dick with burnished tone that is possessed of both heft and ring’), Cavaradossi in Tosca, Ruggero in La Rondine, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut and Rodolfo in La Bohème (this last one not ‘on stage’ as such – Kaufmann famously jumped in to sing from the wings when Piotr Beczala lost his voice at the 2012 Salzburg Festival: the Huffington Post raved that ‘Kaufmann accented his broad, full-throated and awe-inspiring Wagnerian tenor with gestures and facial expressions reflecting his total identification with the role of a man tossed and turned by the forces of love and despair’).

‘There are also comparative rarities such as ‘Orgia, chimera dall’occhio vitreo’ from Edgar and ‘Torna ai felici dì’ from Le villi, a glimpse of what-might-have-been in the form of Rinuccio’s aria from Gianni Schicchi (a relatively light lyric role which Kaufmann is now pretty unlikely to assume on stage), and teasers for two potential future roles (though he’s remaining tight-lipped about concrete plans), the ill-starred stevedore Luigi in Il tabarro and of course the ‘unknown prince’ Calàf in Turandot.’

Operalia 2015 winners announced

20 July 2015, London, UK

Domingo with Lise Davidsen and Ioan Hotea(Photo: Alastair Muir)

The Romanian tenor Ioan Hotea and Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen have been named as the joint winners of Plácido Domingo's 2015 Operalia competition, which took place last week at London's Royal Opera House.

Both first prize winners also garnered other titles: Hotea won the Don Plácido Domingo Sr. Prize of Zarzuela, while Davidsen took the Birgit Nilsson prize and the Rolex audience prize.

Auto-translating opera glasses trialled at Avignon

16 July 2015, Katy Wright

Audience members test the glasses

The world’s first auto-translating opera glasses made their debut at this year’s Avignon Festival.

Co-developed by Atos and Theatre in Paris, the augmented reality glasses allow audience members to choose surtitles in their native language, which are displayed on the glasses at a pace matching that of the performance.

The technology was used for the first time during performances of King Lear at the Palais de Papes, with the option of translation into French, English or Mandarin. It will undergo further testing at future festival productions.

Paul Rodin, managing director of the Avignon Festival, said: ‘These glasses not only demonstrate technological prowess, but are an accessibility tool, providing a simple way for cultures to be spread and making the ‘other’ accessible to very different publics.’

Further alterations will be made before the glasses are rolled out for general use. A greater selection of languages and additional content (such as superimposed 3D animation and dramatic effects) will be available, while those with hearing difficulties will be able to customise the devices.

According to Carl de Poncins of Theatre in Paris, the final product could be in use in opera houses and theatres in the UK within a year.

Operalia finalists announced

16 July 2015, Katy Wright

The finalists for the 2015 Operalia competition have been announced. 11 singers will perform in the opera final, while five will sing for the Zarzuela prize.

The opera finalists are:

Edward Parks, baritone, USA

Andrea Carroll, soprano, USA

Julien Behr, tenor, France

Kiandra Howarth, soprano, Australia

Bongani Justice Kubheka, bass-baritone, South Africa

Hyesang Park, soprano, South Korea

Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone, USA

Darren Pene Pati, tenor, New Zealand

Noluvuyiso Mpofu, soprano, South Africa

Ioan Hotea, tenor, Romania

Lise Davidsen, soprano, Norway

The Zarzuela finalists are:

Andrea Carroll, soprano, USA

Darren Pene Pati, tenor, New Zealand

Kiandra Howarth, soprano, Australia

Ioan Hotea, tenor, Romania

Hyesang Park, soprano, South Korea

The final round of the competition will take place on 19 July at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Armed robber takes €11k from Greek National Opera

13 July 2015, Katy Wright

The Olympia Theatre, home to Greek National Opera

The extended bank holiday in
Greece has seen individuals and businesses to hoard cash rather than deposit it
in a bank – and led to a parallel increase in robberies. On the morning of
Wednesday last week (8 July), the Greek National Opera’s accounts office was
held up by an armed robber who made off with €11,000 (£7,800). The cashier
present at the time was slightly injured but released from hospital later that
day.

The incident was kept under
wraps until the weekend when a report leaked to the press and the company’s
administration was forced to release the details.

It is not known whether the
incident was directly related to the postponement, announced on 9 July, of the
GNO’s production of Carmen at the outdoor Odeon of Herodes Atticus
amphitheatre, original scheduled for 26 to 31 July. It is clear, however, that
the ongoing uncertainty and lack of functioning services in Greece is severely
affecting its companies’ ability to operate.